Diamonds are forever...

Diamonds are Forever… The tagline of the best ever marketing strategy instigated by De Beers to promote and encourage women to need (and want) a diamond engagement ring was the phrase ‘Diamonds are forever’ and with april's birthstone being diamond, this seemed like a good time to explore the desire for diamonds…. and look at the alternatives! 

There have been enough diamonds mined to provide a one-half-carat diamond ring to every single one of 7 billion people on the planet… just sit and consider that for a moment and also think about even if you did that then there would still be a billion carats left over! So its not that diamonds are rare and that's what makes them the ideal engagement ring choice, in fact its the very opposite.  Diamonds were never a popular choice for engagement rings, they weren't regarded as pretty, they weren't colourful, weren't luminous and didn't seem to have any special properties, didn't glow like a ruby or emerald, not iridescent like an opal, they didn't even have a star like some sapphires do.  They were just sparkly.

 Diamond engagement rings are only as old as a microwave oven! They have only been considered a luxury that we need in the last 80 years. The first diamond engagement ring was given by Archduke Maximillian to Princess Mary of Burgundy on their engagement in 1477. Mary's father actually owned Bruges and the factories there cut the facets in to the stones so it was his influence which made the diamonds sparkly! Maximilian managed to negotiate for the lowlands as part of Mary's dowry and therefore he got the technology to replicate that first faceted diamond ring.

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De Beers gained control of 99% of all diamonds on earth and it was them who convinced women that they wanted and needed a diamond ring. The vision in 1910 was that they would create a product which would never dip in value. Diamonds were pouring out of the mines that they owned and new mines were being found faster than they could buy them up so it was all about advertising and making people feel that diamonds were scarce (which was not actually the case). They made them scarce though by reducing production. They limited the number of diamonds available so making them feel 'exclusive'.

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It was a female advertising team who was the genius behind the marketing for the diamond ring. They told women that diamonds were synonymous with love, commitment, and eternity. The iconic slogan "A Diamond is Forever" was introduced in 1947 and has since become ingrained in popular culture. De Beers associated diamonds with romantic gestures, like engagement proposals, by heavily promoting the idea that a diamond ring was a symbol of everlasting love and commitment. They created a cultural expectation that a diamond ring was a necessary component of such occasions.They worked with Hollywood and celebrities to feature diamonds in prime position in films and on the red carpet, making diamonds mean glamour, romance, and luxury.

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But not all engagement rings need to be made with diamonds and having an april birthday doesn't mean that you need a bank loan just to complete your birthstone stacking ring. I have made some engagement rings with the most gorgeous gemstones, like amber, opal and aquamarine. What De Beers did really well was to shape the way we see diamonds. It is still a tradition to have a diamond engagement ring, but have a look at the engagement rings below which I have made. They are a collection of beautiful gemstones, aquamarine, amber, lavender amethyst. Each of them is a special declaration of love and I have been so thrilled to have played a small part in the start of these people's wonderful life together.